Barons

I watched all 8 episodes in a couple of days - thanks to Covid. In my opinion this is a seductive drama with excellent acting and believable story. Stand out performances for me were Ben O'Toole, Jillian Nguyen, Hunter Page-Lochard, Sophia Forrest, Catherine Van-Davies and Sebastian Tang.

What I really appreciate is how the series tackles entrenched misogynistic beliefs, laws and behaviours. You see the women managing these aspects of their community with intelligence and stamina.

Well worth watching till the end.

Loved this show to bits. I wondered if Barons would be able to make it feel real, make it feel like the 70s without lapsing into nostalgia, and they do it extremely well. It feels utterly real. And it looks beautiful without ever feeling like that beauty is a TV construct. And that sense of fun and reality is also through every performance - there are some real standouts, but everyone hits such a high bar. Full disclosure here - I'm a screenwriter, and I'd love to work on the show. But I'm also a former surfer who grew up during this era, so I'm a tough audience. I had so much fun watching, and was so involved. Watch it - you'll love it too.

This has a wonderful cast. Some future Aussie stars I'm sure. Hunter Page-Lochard stands out in particular. The pacing of the series is slightly off at times and there are a few ropey American accents however what makes make up for it in other ways is the lush cinematography (makes me want to head to a warm beach asap) and the details in the seventies throwback costuming is very good also. The recent Daisy Jones and The Six adaption could've learnt a lot from this in terms of 70's vibes with feeling included. The series is not very long so it's a relatively easy watch if you want something that's easy to get into. I give it 7 out of 10.

I really liked the simple nature of this show, but it does have enough twists and turns to make it slightly more complex that you think. This is clever. Its fun and engaging and never pretends to be something it isn't. Acting was mostly strong, and the shots are great with particular reference to the surfing, so I would definitely recommend this one.

I don't think show has the budgets of the big US drama series, but look past that and simple enjoy the experience. I will be watching for Season 2 for sure.

Excellent local drama with a diverse cast and a compelling story - as well as lots of eye candy and brilliant surfing footage. Barons is a classic tale of friend against friend set in the heady days of the early 70s. It looks great and the rivalry between the two leads feels authentic and true. As well as being entertaining it also sensitively examines a lot of issues such as racism, sexism and the early days of the social justice/protest movement - but never in a way that feels preachy, diadactic or gets in the way of the narrative. It's great to see this kind of investment in Australian drama and it deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended.